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Menendez Immigration Bill Includes Gay Rights Provision

"Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced a
comprehensive immigration reform bill yesterday, including a somewhat
controversial provision to extend family-based immigration for same-sex
couples. If passed — it’s unclear whether even the reform bill could —
the provision could help some of the estimated 24,000 gay and lesbian couples in the U.S. that include at least one foreign partner.

"The Uniting American Families Act establishes rights of same-sex
couples to bring their foreign partners to the U.S. Under the current
system, straight couples can petition for their foreign-born husbands
or wives to move to the U.S. as legal residents, but gay and lesbians
are denied the ability to petition for foreign partners — even in
states that have legalized the freedom to marry.

... "But while many Catholic and other religious organizations support immigration reform, some argue they cannot support
a bill with gay rights measures. 'That would be a deal-breaker,' J.
Kenneth Blackwell, a senior fellow at the evangelical Family Research
Council, told the New York Times in July when asked about including family reunification for same-sex couples in an immigration bill.

"While it’s unclear whether this bill will go anywhere,
advocates of gay rights and immigration reform applauded the inclusion
of the Uniting American Families Act to Menendez’s bill.

“'Senator Menendez’s bill will set the stage, in this Congress and
the next, for a serious debate on fixing our broken immigration
system,' Steve Ralls from the pro-LGBT Immigration Equality told The Advocate."